


I Will Always Remember

by invisible_slytherin



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: M/M, Summer Love, The boys go on vacation and lucas meets eliott
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-05-28 16:45:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19398256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invisible_slytherin/pseuds/invisible_slytherin
Summary: "Can you believe we’re in the Galapagos?” Yann asked him. “And that we only had to pay for the hotel?”Or, the one where Basile wins plane tickets to the Galapagos and takes his three friends with him for a one week vacation; there Lucas meets Eliott and, suddenly, one week doesn't seem like enough time.





	1. Day 1

Spending his Christmas or any other of his vacations outside of Paris was something Lucas, as a broke university student, never thought would happen.

It didn’t seem plausible. Vacations cost money and money was something Lucas didn’t have at his disposal, so it was never an option.

He was happy to spend his break from university with his friends and his mother and he didn't need to go somewhere abroad to have a good time. So, it wasn't like there was a deep desire to travel within him that came to life the days before every vacation.

Which didn't mean that he wouldn't accept the opportunity to go somewhere with open hands. In fact, he would accept it very quickly and be thankful for it. He just never thought it would happen.

But here he was. In front of the hotel where he and his three best friends would be staying for the next week. In Puerto Ayora, in the Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos.

It was a complete and unexpected change in scenery. And it was all, surprisingly, thanks to Basile, of all people.

If Lucas was being honest, he wasn’t entirely sure how this even came to be. It had all started two months ago when Basile had been driving home after a date with Daphné and heard about a Christmas contest on the radio. In Basile's words, hearing it after spending time with his girlfriend was a sign of faith and he had to join in and try his luck. When he had gotten home that day and told Lucas, Arthur and Yann about it, the three of them had given him endless shit about it, joking about faith and destiny and powers.

But they had ended up eating their words. All their words. Because Basile had somehow won the contest and, with that, he had appeared home with four shiny tickets to Santa Cruz Island.

They kind of deserved all the teasing they had gotten from Basile and the threats of leaving them behind and taking Daphné with him that had come after that.

Of course, Basile being Basile had already told them that he wanted it to be a vacation for the gang and there wouldn’t be any girls, ‘or boys, Lucas’, involved. That reassurance had toned down the fear of losing their opportunity to go to the Galapagos a bit. Just not enough to prevent them from doing Basile's chores for a whole two weeks without complaining.

It had been worth it, though. It had been worth it for the sun beating on their skin and the smell of the sea that was now enveloping them. For this, Lucas would do Basile’s chores for a month.

“So,” Basile grinned at them, opening his arms wide. “Am I the best or am I the best?”

“I have to admit,” Arthur nodded, approvingly. “Just this one time, you are the best.”

Basile laughed and threw his arms around Lucas’ and Arthur’s shoulders, leading them into the hotel and yelling at Yann, who was walking behind them, to hurry up.

“I would be faster if you guys would carry your own bags,” Yann grumbled.

“You lost the bet, Yann,” Lucas turned his head to grin teasingly at him. “Deal with it.”

They had made a bet while they were waiting for their plane at the airport back in Paris that the first person to fall asleep during the flight would have to carry all their bags from the cab to the hotel. Yann had been pretty confident that Arthur would be the one losing, but, in the end, he had spent nearly the whole flight sleeping and had actually been the first one to fall asleep.

“If you want help though,” Arthur interrupted Lucas and Basile’s laughs. “Just say so.”

“Don’t worry,” Yann grunted, fixing the strap of the backpack he had on his shoulders. “I got this. I’m just glad none of us brought too much shit.”

The hotel lobby was full of life when they entered, guests were talking and sitting on the sofas that were there and employees were walking around. A mix of different languages and accents could be heard and Lucas wondered if they were the only French people in the place or if they would meet anyone who had come from the same place.

The four of them walked further into the lobby, Arthur and Basile deciding they would be the ones doing the check-in and getting their room keys for them while Lucas and Yann found an empty sofa to sit on and wait.

Yann sighed, letting the bags drop to the floor and sitting down without a caring if there was something in them that could break and Lucas shook his head at him. Four backpacks and a suitcase didn't seem like much when he wasn't the one carrying them.

He let himself sit next to Yann and relax into the sofa. The air conditioning in the hotel lobby was a big improvement from the excessive heat outside and Lucas couldn't be more grateful for small mercies of modern times as he was right now.

He knew that December in the Galapagos Islands is supposed to be like June in France, which, technically, means warmer temperatures and the beginning of Summer. He knew that, but today was still a bit too hot to be considered normal. Global warming was laughing at them right now, no doubt.

He hoped that the temperature would drop a little in the next days. He did want it to be warm enough to enjoy their time there and go to the beach, but he didn't particularly want to melt into his towel while doing so.

“Can you believe we’re in the Galapagos?” Yann asked him. “And that we only had to pay for the hotel?”

The contest had only given them the plane tickets, they had had to pay for the hotel and, of course, their meals and anything else they wanted. But the flights were the most expensive thing and Arthur had found a relatively cheap hotel for them. Even if it was a little bit more than Lucas would have liked to spend, sometimes it was good to indulge in a little treat for himself and it wasn't like it had been that much.

“I think the most surprising thing is that Basile was the one who brought us here," he chuckled.

“Serves us right for making fun of him for entering a dumb radio contest,” Yann said, amused to no end about what said 'dumb radio contest' Basile had entered did for them.

“Not so dumb if it brought us to the Galapagos,” Lucas shrugged, slapping Yann’s back playfully. “You should try to join a contest for Easter. Maybe we’ll be able to go to Dubai or something next.”

“Why do I have to be the one joining the contest?”

“Why not you?”

Yann was just about to answer, with some biting remark no doubt, when Basile came up to them. He was jumping up and down a little too excitedly, but, to be fair, reasonably so. Lucas wouldn’t make fun of him for it. Not this time, at least.

“Arthur is just getting the room keys, we can go up soon and then we can go explore,” he rubbed his hands together.

“I don’t know if I wanna go anywhere today,” Lucas shook his head. “I’m kinda tired.”

“Lucas,” Basile said while turning to Lucas and putting his hands on his shoulders, expression serious. “I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re in Galapagos. Galapagos, Lucas. And you want to sleep?”

Lucas rolled his eyes at Basile’s over the top reaction.

“Excuse me for being tired after a twenty-hour flight.”

“I don’t care if you’re tired. We’re in Galapagos and we’re going to enjoy it.”

“We can enjoy it tomorrow.”

“Why enjoy tomorrow what you can enjoy today.”

“I’m not sure that’s how the saying goes-”

“I got the keys,” Arthur’s voice interrupted their silly argument.

Basile yelled out, making some of the people in the lobby turn to stare at him, before snatching one of the keys from Arthur’s hand and running to the elevators.

“I wish I had that much energy,” Lucas grumbled, grabbing his bag from where Yann had left it.

“Come on, Lulu, you can rest a little while we’re in the rooms and then we can go out later,” Yann assured, putting a hand on Lucas’ back and pushing him to where Arthur was scolding Basile while they waited for the elevator.

***

Yann had been right. All Lucas needed was a little rest before the adrenaline of being in the Galapagos really kicked in.

He was in a dreamy, warm place with his friends for the second half of his Christmas vacations. There really was nothing more he could ask for and, as much as he didn’t like to admit it, Basile was right. It wasn’t every day that they were in the Galapagos, they had to enjoy it as much as they could for the week they would be there. And Lucas would make sure to enjoy it as much as possible with the boys.

Yann had woken him up thirty minutes before they were supposed to leave for dinner, roughly pulling the blanket that had been covering him and almost yelling in his ear about warm weather and nice food. As annoyed as Lucas had been about it, he couldn’t deny how much he actually wanted to go outside and experience the completely different place they were in.

However, considering he had been continuously telling Lucas to hurry up, Yann was now the one making them late and taking his sweet, sweet time in the bathroom.

Lucas had knocked on the door three times now and Basile had sent him over ten texts, all in caps lock, telling them they either hurried or him and Arthur would leave them behind. But there was really nothing much Lucas could do except stare out the window while waiting for Yann.

He could see the sea from there. There were people on the beach, people in the streets and the sun shining above all them. There were birds flying and a girl was walking her dog right in front of the hotel. He contemplated opening the window and letting the breeze coming from the sea into the room, but right when he was about to do that, the bathroom door finally opened and Yann walked out.

“Took you long enough,” Lucas raised an eyebrow while he pocketed his phone and grabbed the room key.

“Taking care of yourself takes time, Lucas. You should try it sometime.”

“Sure. Just hope Basile doesn’t kill you and all that effort was for nothing.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Lucas shook his head, laughing at Yann’s completely laid back attitude and looked his friend up and down. He was now surer than ever about the reason why he had taken so long getting ready.

“Planning on bringing someone to our room tonight?” He asked. “Because if you are, I want to know so I can go and room with Arthur and Basile.”

“I’m not bringing anyone into our room, Lucas,” he rolled his eyes, amused. “I’m not gonna kick my best friend out for a hookup.”

Lucas hummed.

“Very grateful for that.”

They stepped out of the room and closed the door behind them, making sure the lights were turned off and that they had everything they needed on their pockets so that they wouldn’t have to come back to the hotel earlier than expected.

“Next time, please wake up earlier, Lucas,” Arthur told him when they met at the lobby. “I couldn’t stand listening to Baz whine any longer.”

“It wasn’t my fault, alright? I was awake for a long time. Yann was the one getting all ready to find a lady tonight.”

“Well, I hope keeping us waiting will be worth it at the end of the night, then,” Arthur shrugged before leading the way out of the hotel.

The evening wasn’t too hot like Lucas had feared after the dreadful heat they had experienced when they had arrived. It was actually the perfect warmth to walk around comfortably and enjoy the view.

Puerto Ayora was a beautiful place, full of life and sounds and colours. Lucas didn’t even know if he wanted to look at the people passing by, at the stores, at the sky or at the sea. Everything was calling his attention, screaming softly to be looked at.

“Baz, I gotta say. This is amazing,” he couldn’t help but say, awe in his voice.

“It is, isn’t it?” Basile grinned at him, bumping their shoulders together, pride and excitement written all over his face.

“You can enter whatever contests you want to in the future and we won’t even say anything,” Yann promised.

“Next time I win,” Basile said as if it was already a sure thing that would happen without any doubts. “I’ll go on vacation with Daphné, though. This time it was for us, but she’s my girlfriend you know.”

“How sweet,” Lucas said sarcastically.

“Don’t worry, Lulu, you’ll understand one day. When you find your own Daphné.”

Lucas snorted.

“I don’t think I want to find a Daphné, thanks,” he clapped Basile on the back while Arthur and Yann sniggered next to them.

“Or, you know, your male Daphné.”

“My male Dahpné?”Lucas raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Basile looked a little unsure but ready to go on with his idea. “You know-”

“Basile, buddy,” Yann threw an arm around his shoulder. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t even try to explain that one.”

Basile blinked, before shrugging and almost pulling Yann with him in his hurry to get to the restaurant he had just seen.

To be fair, Lucas was hungry too and he also couldn’t wait to get somewhere where they could finally eat something since they hadn’t really had any real food since their flight.

***

Their dinner had been great. Maybe a little too expensive for them, they would surely have to find a more suited place for the money they had in the next days. They would have time for that when they do some exploring of the city, a meal at a more expensive restaurant was hardly a big problem.

They were now walking by the beach. The smell of the sea embracing them and the breeze touching their skins. It felt amazing and relaxing and Lucas felt like he was exactly where he wanted to be and where he belonged, despite the long distance from home. He was with his three best friends, their laughs loud and full while they recorded something dumb for their Insta stories and Lucas stopped and sat on a stone bench and just looked around himself.

He was lucky to be here and he was more than grateful for it. Maybe spending vacations in a completely new place was exactly what he had been in need of without even realizing it.

“You alright, Lucas?” Arthur asked, approaching him while Basile attempted to do a handstand in the middle of the sidewalk while Yann filmed it.

“Yeah,” Lucas smiled at him. “This is great.”

Arthur grinned, turned to look at the other two and his grin stretched a bit more.

“It really is.”

They stood in silence for a few seconds. Arthur probably knew that Lucas was just taking everything in and processing what was around him, enjoying the peacefulness that was bathing them.

“Are you guys coming?” Yann called out.

Arthur turned to stare at Lucas with a raised eyebrow, a silent question.

“Yeah,” Lucas answered, firstly only to Arthur and then louder so the other two could hear him. “We are.”

They approached the place where the other two were, both bent over their phones, publishing the dumb videos they had made to their Insta stories. Lucas smiled and kicked Yann’s shin playfully.

“So, any more plans for tonight?”

“We could go to a club, I’m sure we can find one easily,” Basile suggested, already looking around for one.

“We only just got here and you already want to get into a club? You can do that back at home!” Arthur argued.

“But I’m sure clubs here are different.”

“Different. Clubs are clubs, there are drinks and people and music. You really can’t do that in many different ways.”

“Still. Are you telling me that you come to the Galapagos and don’t even want to go clubbing once while you’re here?” Basile sounded quite offended by that thought.

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m just saying that this is our first night here, we could spend it in a different way and go clubbing tomorrow.”

“I’m with Arthur on this,” Yann interrupted before any of the two could say anything else. “Lucas might have slept the afternoon away, but I didn’t and I don’t know about you but I’m tired.”

“We can just walk around for a little longer, maybe get ice cream, eat it on the beach, and then go back to the hotel and call it a night,” Lucas said, hopping the suggestion was good enough for the three of them.

“Sounds good to me,” Arthur shrugged.

Yann agreed quickly too and Basile, although still looking a little mad about not going to the club, followed them without complaining too much, only grabbing his phone and typing away with a small pout on his lips, before it quickly vanished into a smile, no doubt at the sight of a text from Daphné.

If every night was like this one, and even though he would still be with his friends in Paris, it would be terribly hard to say goodbye to the Island and this trip.

  
  
  



	2. Day 2

"What's taking you so long?" Lucas asked into the phone. "Yesterday, you gave us shit for being late and now you're the ones making us wait."

"Basile has been on the phone with Daphné for almost half an hour now. They're still not done," Arthur answered and Lucas was sure he was rolling his eyes at their friend. "I'm just waiting for him."

"Tell him he better hurry up or we're going without him."

"I did. Ten minutes ago. Clearly, it didn't work."

"At least, make him tell you how long it will take?"

Lucas heard some muffled words on the other side of the line and shrugged when Yann looked at him questioningly.

"Basile is talking to Daphy," he explained.

"Oh, great, we'll be here for an hour."

"Lucas, you there?" Arthur asked. "He said he will take five more minutes."

"Five minutes isn't that bad, it could be much much worse," Lucas sighed.

"I'll send you a text when he’s done," Arthur promised before hanging up.

"Basile said five minutes," Lucas told Yann.

"You know, I didn't want to give him shit for it because we're here thanks to him, but, fuck, it's hard when he spends almost an hour on the phone with his girlfriend."

"Maybe the problem is that we're single and don't understand what being in love is."

"You're still bitter about him saying that you'll only understand once you find your male Daphné?" Yann laughed. "Lucas, come on."

"I'm not bitter. I just wish he hadn't said it, alright. I've been in love before," he grumbled.

There was silence for a few seconds while Yann just looked at him like he knew him better than Lucas himself did.

"Have you, though?" Yann finally asked, voice serious and eyes kind. Lucas hated it. 

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Lucas."

And Lucas did know what Yann meant. 

It wasn't that he had never been in a relationship before, because he had. Throughout the years he had been with a few people, both girls and boys, but had never felt anything over the top for any of them. 

In the beginning of his teenage years and dating experience, he had been with some girls. Quick, little relationships that lasted two months at most while he was busy denying his actual feelings and sexuality. They meant close to nothing, had been a simple plot to convince himself and everyone else of how straight he was when he was not.

Then, after he had finally accepted himself, Lucas had been in two relationships with guys. And, although he had, undoubtly felt more for them than he had for the girls, it still hadn't been anywhere near love.

It could have progressed into love eventually, if Lucas had gave those relationships time to grow into it. But, since he hadn't let that happen, it had never turned into more than crushes and not much more.

Even that period of time, years ago, when he had nurtured some feelings for Yann, someone he cared about a lot, hadn't been love. He had never been in love, it was true and it was sad and he still wished he could experience it soon. But, at the same time, he knew that it wasn’t the end of the world, he was young and time was something he had. He still had time to meet someone he wouldn't mind growing a relationship with.

"You know, it's not a bad thing," Yann rushed to comfort him when Lucas had, no doubt, frowned at him. "You're eighteen and there's plenty of time for that. I didn't mean anything by it."

"I know, Yann, don't worry."

"Lulu," Yann said, moving to sit closer to him.

"Yann, seriously," Lucas laughed. "It's fine."

Yann nodded, apparently finally accepting that he hadn't offended or hurt Lucas in any way. And he really hadn't. Lucas hadn't been offended or anything even remotely close to that, the truth had simply made him think, get in his feelings. 

"If you ever need to talk. I'm here to listen."

Lucas just smiled at him. He was lucky, extremely lucky when it came to his friends. He had the best friends he could ask for, Basile, Arthur and Yann were exactly who a person like Lucas needed in his life. Yann in particular since he had known him the longest. 

Yann had always been there for him when he had needed it, Lucas had learned that before, throughout all the years of friendship. When Lucas had been through dark, complicated paths in his life, Yann had always been there for him, no exception. 

Of course, both of them had made some mistakes at times and their friendship saw some rough days. But they had always gone back to talking to each other and to being there for each other. Because that is what friends are for. 

Knowing that, remembering that, Lucas almost wanted to open up to Yann, almost wanted to tell him his thoughts on falling in love and his own love life or lack theroff. However, before he could do that, his phone vibrated in his pocket, alerting him to a new text and ruining the already fragile mood.

"Arthur says that Basile finally hung up, they'll be down soon."

"Finally," Yann groaned, stretching his arms. "I had half a mind to go upstairs and sleep some more."

They didn't have to wait much longer though. Only five minutes after the text, Arthur and Basile appeared on the hotel lobby, coming out of the elevator. They both looked ready to spend a day at the beach as they had planned for the day. They wore colourful shorts and towels over the shoulders, sunglasses on their heads and phones on their hands.

Despite already being late, the two of them didn't seem to be in a hurry and Basile looked like he was talking Arthur's ear of about something or the other. When they were close enough for Lucas to hear what they were saying, he heard the name Daphné mentioned three times in the same sentence and quickly decided that he would not strike conversation with Basile until he was done letting all his feelings out.

Basile and Daphné were both Lucas' close friends and he adored them to pieces, not that he would ever outright say it to them, but they were still in their honeymoon phase and that could get a bit annoying at times. They could get way too lovey dovey way too quickly and it made Lucas feel comfortable around them for too long if that happened. 

It also happened that when Lucas was alone with one of them, since he was close friends with the other, they would both try to share everything with him. Asking him for opinions and about what he knew about certain situations. Basile sometimes even made a point of not sparing him any details. And Lucas really wasn't interested in hearing some things.

He couldn't exactly blame them for being in love and wanting to share it with the world and he knew that it was just the no filter personality talking, but he still liked to stray away from unnecessary information as often as possible.

Just yesterday on their flight, Lucas had been the one sitting next to Basile on the plane and his friend had used the opportunity to tell Lucas how much he would miss Daphné during their vacation. At one point he had even said that maybe he shouldn't have entered the contest, if it meant not seeing her for a week; Lucas had tried as hard as he could not to roll his eyes at Basile and had, somehow, managed to succeed in that task.

He had his own opinion about Basile's apparent momentary regret. He thought that no matter how much into the honeymoon phase they were and how much they would miss each other, Basile still deserved to have fun and they didn't have to be stuck at the hip. However, he was sure Basile wouldn't like it very much if Lucas shared that opinion with him, so he had just stayed quiet and let him vent.

It was only fair that today it was someone else’s turn to listen to Basile’s musings. 

Anyway, Lucas was sure that with the prospect of the vacation and all their new experiences, Basile wouldn’t go off about missing Daphné for much longer and would actually start having more fun.

"About time," Yann said. "I was getting worried the sea would dry up before we went to the beach."

"Don't be dramatic," Basile said. "I was only talking to my girlfriend."

"Let's go?" Lucas interrupted them before they could start bickering in the hotel lobby.

Arthur was already at the front door and Lucas turned around to follow his example. Basile and Yann could follow them, Lucas wouldn’t wait around any longer.

"I'm so glad it's not as hot as it was yesterday," Arthur said, looking up at the sky. "I really didn't feel like melting today."

Lucas nodded in agreement.

"It is still morning, though,” he said. “It can get hotter in the afternoon.”

He breathed in the fresh air of the Pacific and the tourists’ voices flying around. The environment in the island was so different from anywhere Lucas had been before, he couldn't help but want to never leave the place.

“I hope the water isn't too cold," he added.

Arthur just laughed, not surprised at all. 

Lucas absolutely despised cold water. His friends knew that better than anyone else since they had went to the beach with him before and had witnessed his hate for the cold. 

He couldn't help it, though, he just didn't like the feeling of cold water on his skin. So, whenever he was at the beach, he would only get in the water and go for a swim if the water wasn't overly cold. If it was however, he would step a foot in the sea and that was it. 

It had been that way since he was little. When everything had still been good between his parents and in their little family, the three of them used to go to the beach on vacations and, since he remembered, Lucas and the water had never been particularly close friends. It got to the point where Lucas wouldn't even step a foot in the water for the entire duration of the trip and that had earned him the nickname 'kitten' with his parents. 

He felt a little riddiculous at times, but he couldn't help it and so he had learned to accept it over the years.

He had high hopes for Galapagos though. He was sure the water there was warmer than back in France. It had to be, the weather was warmer and the ocean was completely different from the Mediterranean Sea, near which he usually spent part of his summer.

"I'm sure it's warm enough for you to get in it at least once this week. Even if I have to throw you there myself."

Lucas raised an eyebrow, amused by Arthur's threat. He wouldn't be surprised if he, aided by Yann and Basile, actually went forward with it and grabbed him only to drop him in the water. 

It had happened the last time they went on vacation together and, surely, it could happen again. That time, he had been quite mad at them for it at the beginning, rambling about bondaries and anger. But then the sound of laughing and the sun shining above had warmed him up and he could only manage to be fondly annoyed at his friends.

***

Despite it only being 10 AM, the beach was busy and almost full when they got there. There were people spread out all over the sand, colourful towels and beach umbrellas and bags made up the landscape with the water and the sky as a background of blue. 

Lucas wasn’t entirely sure why the amount of people surprised him slightly. They were at a place full of tourists who wanted to enjoy their stay and enjoy the beach just like the Lucas and his friends wanted to do. It was only logical that the place was full. 

It wasn't that big of a deal, anyway. They only had to find a space where the four of them would fit so they could spend their day there. Having people around them would hardly be a problem.

"Come on," Arthur pushed him forward a little. "Let's find a place for us."

Lucas took off his flip flops and walked quickly to the sand where Arthur, who had already been taking off his shoes while speaking, was waiting for him. The sand was warm and thin under his feet, it caressed them and tickled a bit. But it felt nice. He knew that it would probably get annoying as the day went by but, for now, he was enjoying it a little too much.

People were right when they said that going to the beach was relaxing, Lucas thought, this day was exactly what he was in need of after the beginning of his first university year.

"Look, over there," Arthur pointed at an empty place a few meters away.

The two of them hurried to get to space Arthur had pointed out and placed their towels and bags down. They would hopefully, if everything went according to plan, stay there for the whole day and they now only had to wait for Yann and Basile to arrive. 

Lucas sat on his towel and breathed in the smell of the sea and the freshness of the breeze. He closed his eyes and laid back, they could deal with tidying up their things and opening the beach umbrella later, for now, he just wanted a few minutes of doing nothing. 

He sighed contently when his head hit the sand and closed his eyes in order not to get blinded by the sun, his sunglasses were in his bag, but he could afford to spend a few minutes without them. Despite having woken up barely an hour and a half ago, Lucas still felt like he could fall asleep again at any minute now and he could only blame the peacefulness of the beach for that.

"Couldn't you have waited for us?" 

Lucas opened his eyes and raised a hand to shield them from the sun to look at the source of the voice. Lucas hadn't even noticed them arrive, but Yann was standing over him, eyes glaring at Lucas and Arthur while Basile was putting his bag down near the others. 

"We didn't want to deal with your bickering this early in the day," Arthur shrugged.

"You love our bickering."

Basile and Yann laid down their towels next to Lucas and Arthur's before taking off their shirts and laying down on the sun.

"So, who wants to go swim?” Yann asked.

“Not me,” Lucas shook his head, sitting up to finally take off his shirt and reach for his sunglasses and phone.

“What a surprise,” Arthur laughed.

“We’ll go without you, then,” Basile shrugged.

He didn't look bothered at all by Lucas' lack of enthusiasm when it came to the possibility of going for a swim in the blue looking water. Basile probably had enough enthusiasm for the two of them and waiting for Lucas would end up killing it, he reasoned. 

Lucas didn't answer. He didn't need to. So, he laid back down with his sunglasses on and eyes closed beneath them. The sun was warming up his skin, it wasn't too hot since it was still morning and there was a breeze in the air that contrasted with it. It felt like a warm blanket on a windy Autmun day, just warm enough.

He grabbed his phone and earphones from where he had put them down on the towel next to him, and wiggled around on his towel for a few seconds to find the best position to enjoy the peaceful moment.

He wasn’t sure what it was about the beach and the sun, but he always felt extra lazy when he was there, sunbathing. 

He closed his eyes again and relaxed his body, this time with some music playing in his ears. He wouldn’t mind spending his entire day like this, laying and sitting around on the sand. Warm sun and light breeze on his skin. Music and people as background noise.

He knew, logically, that he would have to get up soon, open their beach umbrella and get under it, get some water to drink and hide from the midday sun. But he would still enjoy this peacefulness and lovely weather for a little while longer.

***

Lucas was minutes away from falling asleep when a wet, cold body fell on top of him, startling him out of it. He grunted, the weight had came so unexpectedly that it had almost made him lose his breath. 

When he opened his eyes, he wasn't that surprised to see Basile's curly hair in front of his face.

“Thanks a lot, Baz” he grumbled, pushing his friend off of himself. “You almost managed to kill me there. And you got me all wet.”

“Worth it for the look on your face,” Basile laughed, getting off Lucas’ and sitting on the towel next to his.

“How funny,” Lucas rolled his eyes, even though they were covered by the sunglasses and Basile wouldn’t be able to see.

“Why don’t we play some card game before going to get something for lunch?” Arthur interrupted them. “I have a deck on my bag.”

“I’m up,” Yann got up and dried his hair with his towel before walking to where Arthur’s bag was and searching for the cards.

Lucas turned around where he was sitting, so that his back was to the see and he was looking at his friends. While Yann shuffled the cards, Lucas put his phone back in his backpack so he wouldn't lose it somewhere in the middle of the sand. 

“What are we playing?” He asked.

“Go fish,” Arthur answered before anyone had time to suggest anything else.

“You just want a rematch because you lost at the plane yesterday,” Yann shoved him playfully.

“So what if I do? You’re all going down.”

“We’ll play go fish then. I have a deck of Uno too, if you want to play that at some point,” Lucas told them while Yann spread the cards down on a towel in between them.

“I’m glad there’s almost no wind today, can you imagine trying to play this if there was?”

“We would actually have to go fish the cards from the water sooner or later,” Basile said, reaching to pick four cards.

The other three followed suit. They took their cards and held them in their hands while looking challengingly at each other. 

Sometimes, they got a little bit too competitive when it came to any game they played together. They all had a competitive side and they always wanted to win, no matter the game, no matter the opponents. Though, winning against friends somehow had a sweeter taste, so they would do anything to win. And they weren't exactly above cheating.

“So, are we betting something this time?” Lucas asked.

It was sort of an usual thing for them to bet when playing some game together. There was no reason behind it except wanting to spice up things a little bit and liking the thought of not having to pay for lunch or not cleaning the house for a week. It was all in good fun and between friends and Lucas was sure that they had all won an equal amount of times throughout the years of friendship.

“We could play five times and the ones who wins the less amount of times pays lunch?” Yann suggested.

“Sure,” Arthur nodded. “But we’re eating at that cheap place we saw near the hotel.”

The night before, while they had been strolling around the place while walking back to the hotel, they had found a small, cheap restaurant that wasn't too far away. 

It had felt like they had found a mine of gold. The restaurant was near the hotel and the beach and it wasn't expensive at all. It was exactly what they had been in need of since they were in a new place on vacations and on a budget.

“I’m in,” Lucas shrugged. 

Basile took the first turn, claiming that it was only fair since they were currently sitting on their asses at the beach thanks to him. He wasn't wrong, but it got Lucas wondering how much longer Basile would keep using that same line to get advantage at things while they were at the island.

The first game took way longer than it should have taken. Between certain people (Yann) saying they didn't have cards when they actually did and other people (Arthur) pretending to go fish but not actually doing it while the others were distracted, plus eventually Basile and Lucas following their example, it had been a long round. 

Some arguments had bloomed all over the place, they had started pushing each other onto the sand playfully and trhas tried to sneak a glance at the others' cards. 

It had taken almost thirty minutes for that round to finish, not that any of them really cared. The only thing Lucas hadn't liked was that Arthur, since the world is unfair, had ended up winning.

They did four more rounds after that one, smaller ones since they cut the cheating a bit, and Lucas was happy to say that he won twice. He was on the lead with Arthur who also had won twice and then Basile had won one time, while Yann had lost every single time. Lucas could potentially feel sorry for his best friend, but, after all the cheating that had been done, he couldn't help but think that it served Yann right. 

Paying his friends' lunch one day also wouldn't make Yann go bankrupt, so it was all fun and games.

***

Lunch had been great. The food had been amazing, especially considering the price, and they really hadn't needed anything more than they had gotten. Not having to pay for what he had eaten had also been a good reason as to why the meal had tasted so well. 

Yann had complained for a little about having to pay, but rules were rules and bets were bets and they took their bets and challenges very seriously. So, he had ended up shutting up and paying for everyone's lunch, as had been agreed without making that much of a fuss. 

If he hadn't been able to pay, though, the others would have stepped in without needing to think twice.

They had been back at the beach for a little while now. 

They had already had time to re-apply their sunscreen and were now laying on their towels without doing anything. Not for lack of wanting to do something else on Basile's part.

He had wanted to go for a swim as soon as they had arrived, but Arthur had thankfully managed to dissuade him from doing so. He had convinced him with the 'not getting into the water so soon after eating' and the 'not walking around when the sun was so bright and hot' arguments and Lucas was glad for that. He didn't want to deal with having to take Basile getting a sunburn or worse, having to take him to the hospital.

Simply standing under the shade of the beach umbrella, which they had finally opened, while it was too hot to do anything else, was the best choice all things considered. It wasn't like they could complain anyway, doing nothing felt good every once in a while.

Now, though, it had been some time and Lucas was starting to get bored of not having anything to do. 

With a sigh, he got up and walked over to where his backpack was. He had wanted it to be under the umbrella too, but there was only one umbrella and barely any space for four grown guys, much less for their bags, so it had ended up staying in the sun. They had only left the snacks and the water under the shade, everything else had had to take one for the basics of survival.

"Where are you going, Lucas?" Yann asked from where he was laying down, legs in the sun and head under the umbrella.

"Just getting the cards. I don't know about you, but I'm bored."

"Yes," Basile exclaimed, excitement suddenly renewed in him and making him sit up.

"I don't think I want to play right now," Yann said.

"We don't need you to play anyway, don't want your cheating ways corrupting our game," Arthur slapped his arm playfully before he too sat up and waited for Lucas to find the cards inside his bag.

"As if you didn't cheat too," Yann raised his middle finger at Arthur without even bothering to check if he was shoving it in the right direction.

“Charming,” Lucas laughed.

Lucas sat back down on his towel and shuffled the deck of cards while staring into the horizon. 

The line that separated the sea and the sky was always so beautiful and dreamy. So mysterious and desirable. Lucas could understand why there were so many people that wanted nothing more than to get on a boat and sail until they reached it. Even if such feat was impossible. 

The horizon can never be touched, it can only be aimed for. But the determination, the ambition, that comes with aiming for it, it's already an incredible feat on itself.

Basile kicked Lucas’ shin, mumbling about taking too long to shuffle some cards, and Lucas let his eyes leave the horizon and settle back on the cards he had in his hands. He shook his head and gave seven cards to Basile, Arthur and then himself. 

The game wasn’t as heated as go fish had been in the morning. Partly because Yann, arguably the most competitive after Basile, wasn’t playing, and partly because it was the beginning of the afternoon. They were at the beach in the warm weather and they had just had lunch, all of that made them feel tired and considerably lazy. So much so that they didn't even have energy to be extremely competitive.

Still, there had been some arguments, some shoving around, rude gestures and even more offensive words. 

Arthur had ended up winning. 

Basile had looked like he had wanted to bury his head in the sand and step on it, but eventually the pout had went away and Lucas had put away the cards so that they could all lay down and rest for a little.

***

  
  


Lucas wasn’t sure how much time had passed since they had finished playing Uno. The only thing he knew was that he had actually fallen asleep and that he would get a sunburn if he didn’t put more sunscreen on and turned around. 

With a lazy sigh, he sat up on his towel, eyes a little bleary and not too focused. He yawned and rubbed his eyes under the sunglasses. Yann and Basile were nowhere to be seen and Arthur was rummaging around on his bag with his back to Lucas.

“Can you pass me the sunscreen?” Lucas asked making him jump slightly.

“Didn’t know you had already woken up,” Arthur raised an eyebrow, throwing him the sunscreen that had been by his feet.

“Just did,” he opened the cap of the product. “Where are Basile and Yann?”

“Swimming. I’m going to join them if I can find my glasses,” he grumbled. 

With a triumphant exclamation, Arthur pulled out of his backpack the case where he kept his glasses and switched the normal ones that he had on his face for his sunglasses. 

“I hate having to switch glasses all the time,” he complained, adjusting the sunglasses. “Do you want to come?”

“No, thanks,” Lucas shook his head.

Arthur shrugged, not really minding, and waved before turning around and running to the water.

Lucas applied sunscreen quickly on the frontal part of his body, since he had been laying on his stomach until now, and put the bottle away again. 

He laid down and adjusted his head so it was under the umbrella, since the sun was making his eyelids feel a little too red for his liking. Then, he changed the song on his phone before closing his eyes and preparing to take a quick nap until the boys came back from the water.

He couldn't have slept for too long when a sudden weight hit him on the stomach like a punch, a very hard, painful punch. He groaned, hands coming to grip the place that had been hurt and sat up. 

At first, he had thought that it had been Basile, repeating his little feat from that morning, but, truth was, the weight and the feeling of a person was very different from what Lucas had felt now. And he couldn't hear the boys, anyway, so it couldn't have been them.

Confused, Lucas looked around and quickly found that the culprit had been a volleyball ball that now laid a little away from him, on top of Yann's towel. 

He reached to grab the corner of the towel in order to get the ball without having to get up and moaned when the movement stretched the still tender part of his stomach where he had been hit. The ball wasn't that heavy, but he would be lying if he said that the impact hadn't hurt him.

He looked around, trying to find whoever had tossed the ball and completely failed their mark. No one in a close proximity seemed to be looking for something, so Lucas couldn’t be sure where the ball had came from.

Then, a guy came running up the beach, looking around and stopping when his eyes found Lucas and noticed the ball he was holding. The guy wore a guilty looking smile while he approached the place where Lucas was.

“Hey,” he said, looking at Lucas. 

His feet were fidgeting in the sand and he was rubbing the back of his neck, looking every bit guilty and uncomfortable. 

Lucas took his sunglasses off, not wanting to be rude to the guy who already looked like he regretted everything he had done up until then. Lucas would wait it out, but, soon enough, he would assure the guy that he wasn’t mad at all. Accidents happen. Lucas would know. The amount of times he and his friends had hit each other with console controls or balls while playing a sport was enough to make sure Lucas more than knew that.

“I’m sorry,” the guy rushed out. “Some friends and I were playing volley and, well, maybe I’m not that good at it. Sorry.”

“It’s alright, man, don’t worry,” Lucas shook his head, giving the boy the ball that he had on his hands. 

“We probably shouldn’t play when the beach is so full, but we don’t always make the best decisions.”

“Don’t sweat it, dude, these things happen.”

“Are you alright, though?” The boy seemed genuinely concerned about the prospect of having hurt someone and he crunched down in order to be at eye level with Lucas.

“My stomach hurts a little, but it won’t be anything in few minutes, I’m sure,” Lucas shrugged. “It was a good throw, even if it was in the wrong direction.”

“I’m so sorry,” the boy apologized again. “Maybe we should get some ice for yout?”

Lucas shook his head, almost amused about the amount of concern the boy in front of him was showing about something that didn’t even matter much. 

“I told you, it’s nothing. Don’t worry. In a few minutes it won’t hurt anymore, you really don’t have to worry so much about it.”

“Still… Let me buy you an ice cream or something? As an apology.”

“You don’t need to,” Lucas started, but the boy looked at him, ready to interrupt him and argue about it some more, and Lucas chuckled. “If it does make you feel better, though, I guess I can’t say no to ice cream on a hot day.”

“Alright then,” the boy gave him a sweet, blinding smile. “Let me just give this ball to my friends and I’ll be right back.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to go tell my friends that I won’t be here too, in case they appear while we’re gone and think I was kidnapped.”

“I’ll meet you at the parlour over there?” he pointed at an ice cream parlour close to where they were sitting.

Lucas just nodded and watched as the boy got up, waved at him and left with the ball on his hands and a skip to his step. 

***

When Lucas got to where his friends had been and told them what had happened and that he wouldn’t be on the towels for some time, the boys had been more than amused by what they heard. In fact, they had laughed for about two minutes because in the time they had been swimming, Lucas had managed not only to be hit by a volleyball ball, but also to be asked out for ice cream. 

Lucas did tell them, more than once, that the guy hadn’t ‘asked him out’, he had simply wanted to pay for his ice cream as an apology, although an unnecessary one. His friends hadn’t seemed to listen to him though, and, when Lucas left them to go meet up with the boy, they had made their fair share of inappropriate comments and jokes, as was usual of them. 

That was also when Lucas noticed that he hadn’t asked the other boy for his name and was now stuck with no alternative but to call him ‘the guy’ in his head and to his friends. 

Arthur had found that particular thing tremendously funny and had made sure that Lucas knew that it wasn’t unusual for one time hook ups not to know each other’s names. That was also the time Lucas had turned around and left them to laugh at his expenses without him having to witness it. 

The guy was already waiting for him when he got to the ice cream parlour. The smile that he greeted Lucas with when he stopped in front of him almost rivaled the sun in warmth. The guy was tall, taller than Lucas and he had to look up slightly to be able to see him. Stupidly, he had left his sunglasses behind so, now, he was stuck with squinting in order to see anything. He wasn't sure he liked the pathetic face he was probably making in front of this stranger.

Because this guy was gorgeous and, in a mix of his stomach hurting, amusement at the other guy’s concern and trying to make sure he didn’t worry too much, Lucas hadn’t even noticed that before. Which was truly a shame, because now he was stuck looking like a lovestruck, surprised fool.

“Are you sure you don’t want some ice?” The guy questioned, looking down at Lucas stomach briefly. 

Lucas rolled his eyes, with this he could deal. This was familiar territory that didn't take much out of Lucas' brain.

“I am sure. If you keep asking me, though, I might get a bruised ego and that can’t be solved with ice.”

“I won’t ask again, then,” he joked and opened the door to the parlour, holding it while he waited for Lucas to get in. 

“I don’t even know your name, volleyball guy,” Lucas looked up at him. 

Thankfully, the line wasn’t too big and, when they got in it, there were only four other people ahead of them, which was surprising in itself considering it was the middle of the afternoon on a hot summer day.

“It’s Eliott.”

“I’m Lucas.”

“And how long have you been here in the island, Lucas?”

  
  


Lucas was aware that Eliott was probably only making conversation to make sure they weren’t stuck in an awkward silence for the duration of their wait at the ice cream parlour.

Lucas knew that, but Eliott seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say and it made him wonder if maybe Eliott actually wanted to know. 

Eliott's eyes were on Lucas’ face and his body was turned to him, giving him his full attention and completely ignoring everything else around them, as if he wanted nothing more than to listen to Lucas.

“Just yesterday,” Lucas answered and decided to explain a bit more to prevent the conversation from stopping, Eliott couldn’t be the only one making an effort. “One of my friends won the plane tickets on a radio contest and invited us to come with him.”

“That’s very fortunate,” Eliott looked impressed and interested in the little story. “Where are you from then? You have an accent.”

“I think half the people here probably also have an accent,” Lucas laughed, gesturing to the shop full of tourists. “You have an accent, too. And, to answer your question, I’m French.”

Eliott was about to take a step since the line had moved and stopped abruptly to face Lucas with wide eyes and curious smile.

“Me too. I’m from France too, is what I mean. I came here to help my aunt,” he told Lucas, switching effortlessly from English to French. “Is a bit of a long story,” he paused. “It’s not that long, actually,” he shrugged.

Lucas raised an eyebrow, amused by Eliott’s quick change of mind. 

“My aunt moved here last year and opened her own flower shop, you know a typical change of scenery after her divorce.”

“Typical,” Lucas mocked. “You do know that not everyone who divorces moves to the other side of the world.”

“I guess that’s just my aunt’s way then,” Eliott laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Anyway, she came here with her daughter who got married, last week. That’s why I’m here, I came to the wedding and stayed for vacations.”

“You’re right, it wasn’t that long of a story.” 

“Shut up,” Eliott rolled his eyes, pushing Lucas playfully.

Lucas chuckled, walking up to the counter since it was already their turn to order their ice creams. 

“I want a chocolate ball and a strawberry ball, please,” Eliott asked. “What about you?” He turned to Lucas.

“One caramel and one chocolate, please.”

T he waitress smiled at them and turned to make their ice creams. Meanwhile, Lucas leaned against the counter and turned his head to look at Eliott who was looking out the window. Eliott who was gorgeous and whose eyes and hair shone with the afternoon sun. 

It made Lucas kind of disgusted with himself for waxing poetics in his brain about a guy who he had just met, but Eliott made it too easy to wax poetics about him. 

“How long are you staying here for?” Eliott asked him all of a sudden, startling him out of his musings. 

“A week, we leave on January 1st.”

“So, your last night will be New Year’s Eve,” Eliott grinned. “I hope you don’t have an early flight.”

“We don’t,” Lucas winked lamely. “We made sure of that. If we’re in the Galapagos for New Year’s Eve, then we sure as hell are going to enjoy it without worrying about being on time for the flight,” he paused for a second. “Even if we might regret it at some point during the day.”

“Living on the edge,” Eliott wiggled his eyebrows. 

The waitress came back to the counter with their ice creams and Eliott stepped in front of Lucas, making sure he wouldn’t even try to pay for his own ice cream, as if Lucas was going to say no to free ice cream. If Eliott wanted to pay, then Lucas would let him. 

After the ice creams were paid for, the two of them grabbed their own and thanked the waitress before leaving the parlour and stepping into the hot summer air. It was an incredible contrast to the air conditioned, fresh air of the shop and Lucas felt like he would melt with his ice cream if he didn’t get to a place hidden from the sun quickly.

“Does your stomach still hurt?” Eliott asked, eating a bit of his ice cream. 

“No, don’t worry,” Lucas smiled. “It’s fine. Though, this ice cream is amazing, I would take another hit for some more of it,” he joked.

“Next time,” Eliott looked at him with an intensity in his stare that Lucas hadn't seen before throughout their interaction. “I’ll buy you ice cream without hitting you. That’s a much better plan, isn’t it?”

Lucas stared at him, trying to understand how much of it was joking and how much of it was Eliott being serious. However, it seemed mostly serious and Lucas was at a loss of words. 

This guy, this gorgeous guy who he had met not too long ago and who had bought him ice cream as an apology for having hit him with a volleyball ball, was technically asking him out. 

“I guess I can’t argue with that,” Lucas raised an eyebrow. “It does seem like a better plan.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me way too long to write and edit, I don't really know why.
> 
> Also, me making Eliott bad at sports again? More likely than anyone would think.
> 
> Anyway, hope someone's still reading this story and that this chapter wasn't too boring.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know how this happened. I kind of just got a prompt and, at first, I was supposed to make a one shot with around 4k around of it, but, as always, it got out of hand and here we are. 
> 
> I'm not sure when I will be updating, I wanted to post a chapter per week, but I don't know if I'll be able to or not. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter and if you like the idea of this story. 
> 
> By the way, I know nothing about the Galapagos, I never went there and all my knowledge comes from the quick research I did while writing. I hope it's enough to make this, at least, close to reality. If it's not, for the sake of this fic and my sanity, let's pretend it is.
> 
> Anyway, see you guys soon with a new chapter.


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